12 Months Out

Domestic Relations Order

Pensions earned during a marriage are considered marital property. So, if you divorce, you may need to split your retirement benefit with your ex-spouse. If you agreed to such a division, or if a court ordered you to share a portion of your pension benefits with your ex-spouse, now is the time to make sure NYSLRS has a valid domestic relations order (DRO) on file:

If you have a DRO, send it to our Matrimonial Bureau, which will review it for consistency with New York State law. If your DRO isn’t complete, visit our website for a NYSLRS-developed DRO template and tips to help the review process move more quickly. We’ll need certified photocopies of the final DRO and your judgement of divorce, before we can distribute any pension benefits to an ex-spouse.

This process can take some time, which is why you want to begin 12 months before you retire.

Review your health insurance coverage

NYSLRS doesn’t administer health insurance benefits, but they’re an important part of a financially secure retirement. Check with your health benefits administrator to determine what coverage you’re eligible for once you retire. Now is the time to investigate private health insurance plans if you’re not eligible for post-retirement coverage or if you need to supplement it. If you are a New York State employee, you may want to review the Planning for Retirement guide from the Department of Civil Service.

Chris, thanks for your question. There are a few ways you can go about getting the information you’re looking for:

You can visit our website and use our Benefit Projector Calculator to help you estimate your pension based on the information you enter. You can use your latest Member Annual Statement to help you fill out the calculator.

You can contact our call center toll-free at 1-866-805-0990 to request a Benefit Projection through our automated phone line. Your projection can be mailed to your home as soon as the next business day.

You can also schedule an appointment to speak to an Information Representative by phone or meet with an Information Representative at one of our consultation sites. Our staff can help you project your pension.

You can find your registration number on your Member Annual Statement (or if you are retired, on your Retiree Annual Statement). If your statement is not readily available, you can contact us via our NYSLRS email form at https://nysosc9.osc.state.ny.us/product/ccsub.nsf/fsWeb?OpenFrameset. One of our representatives should be in touch with you within 48 hours.

While we naturally want to help you, we feel your concerns would be better answered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself. You can contact the agency directly by calling its toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 . Alternatively, you may contact SSA online to find out when you may want to start receiving retirement benefits by visiting http://www.socialsecurity.gov/planners.

Thanks for your question. You can provide us with a photocopy of your passport and driver license to prove your date of birth. Make sure you provide your member registration number too. You can mail the copies to:

New York State and Local Retirement System
Attn: Benefit Calculations & Disbursement Services Bureau
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12244-0001

If you intend to file for retirement at your appointment, you may wish to bring proof of your date of birth, such as your passport. It’s also a good idea to bring any recent NYSLRS correspondence, your last retirement estimate and/or your most recent Member Annual Statement if you have them, and a list of your questions.

I mailed documentation to NYSLRS to provide proof of date of birth last summer but do not know if it was received. How do I know if NYSLRS received it? Is that something that NYSLRS could put under our account information that we could access through Retirement NYS Online?

Please email our customer service representatives using our secure email form (see link below). One of our representatives will review your account to address your questions. Filling out the secure form allows us to safely contact you about your personal account information. Please allow five to seven business days for a response.

Good morning,
I send in a service breakdown request on December 16, 2016. I still have not received anything back. I plan on retiring in 2018 and I need this information to plan.
Thank you for your help
Sandra Hayes

To get the account-specific information you need, please email our customer service representatives using our secure email form (see link below). One of our representatives will review your account to address your questions. Filling out the secure form allows us to safely contact you about your personal account information. Please allow five to seven business days for a response.

My daughter signed up for the nys retirement system when she was 16 years old and working for our local municipality as a lifeguard. She is now 23 & a teacher in NYS & signed up for that retirement system. How can she link these 2 retirement systems so she gets the appropriate credit for her previous employment & put back into the proper tier (I believe she should be in tier 5)

A transfer is effective as soon as we receive the application. And, with very few exceptions, it’s irrevocable.

If your daughter has any questions about her transfer, she should contact both NYSLRS and her current retirement system before submitting the application. She can reach our Contact Center at 1-866-805-0990 (518-474-7736 in the Albany, New York area).

For ERS Final Average Salary calculations, given the recent retro -active salary increases, how does that effect the FAS calculations? Should the 16/17 and 17/18 updated annual salaries be used in the calculation or, only what was actually paid in those years? What about the retro-active payments received in 18/19?

Generally, when you retire, retroactive payments — such as a lump sum payment from your employer following a newly negotiated union contract — are applied to the pay periods when they were earned. So, they would increase your FAS if the time period in which you earned that money (when you would have received it, had it not been withheld) is part of your FAS period.

For information about your particular situation, you can email our customer service representatives using our secure email form. One of our representatives will review your account and respond to your questions. Filling out the secure form allows us to safely contact you about your personal account information.

Thanks for all the very valuable informations regarding retirement that all of us hardworking people needs. It just gives me some sort of resentment feelings when some (or even most) of my collegues “ridiculed” me they opposed to this idea of “retiring” early at age 55. You folks have no idea what to you a “young” age 55 person been through in those years he/she started working at the very young age such as 21 years old. Just imagine you’ve been working full time since age 21 and all those experiences you’ve been through those passing years you’ve worked? And when that person wants to retire at age 55, don’t he/she have the right and deserves to? How dare you judge and say, “Oh, you’re still too young and strong, you could still do working years in your life”.

Question,
I have heard that you can retire one month prior to your 55 birth date. Is this true. Yes 55 is young, but if you can, that I say go for it. Actually, go for it one month earlier if possible, please let me know.

No, unless you are in a special 20- or 25-year plan that allows for retirement after 20 or 25 years, regardless of age, you must be at least 55 years old to receive a NYSLRS pension.

Full retirement age (when members can retire without a reduction for early retirement) is 62 (63 for Tier 6 members). Benefit reductions do not apply to ERS Tier 2, 3 or 4 members who retire between 55 and 62 with 30 or more years of service credit.

If you have questions about your particular situation, we recommend emailing our customer service representatives through our secure email form. One of them will review your account and respond to your questions. Filling out the secure form allows us to safely contact you about your personal account information.

Unless you are in a special 20- or 25-year plan that allows for retirement after 20 or 25 years, regardless of age, you must be at least 55 years old to receive a NYSLRS pension.

Full retirement age for Tier 4 members (when you can retire without a reduction for early retirement) is 62. However, benefit reductions do not apply to ERS Tier 4 members who retire between 55 and 62 with 30 or more years of service credit.

For answers regarding your particular situation, we recommend emailing our customer service representatives through our secure email form. One of them will review your account and respond to your questions. Filling out the secure form allows us to safely contact you about your personal account information.